Sunday: 4th Sunday of the Year.
MSSU Lesson Topic: The Israelites in Egypt.
Reading: Genesis 15:12-16; 45:1-8
GE 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
GE 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
GE 45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
GE 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
GE 45:8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
So, as I have said earlier, I will be conducting my own Sunday School service here on my blog, amateur as I am, translating the lessons prescribed for the Mizoram Sunday School Union (MSSU) by the Mizoram Synod Authority into English.
But “myself” wrote a good comment on my previous post, where she said Sunday School lessons are “boring boring boring”. I wouldn’t exactly use that word “boring” , but yeah, in a way, Sunday School lessons are not exactly like the usual Church sermons.
I look at some of the notes I made so far for this week’s Sunday School lesson: Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Egypt and Mesopotamia not only did business with each other but also shared the same religion, farming thrived, Canaan lie in between these two Kingdoms, the 12th King of Egypt was Amenhemet-I who was not interested in building Pyramids, etc etc.
Hehe… Republishing the SS lessons here might not be a good idea after all. It's more about history rather than thoughts and maxims. What was the name of Joseph’s father, who attacked the Canaanites, how long is the river Jordan etc..
So with this, my dream of becoming a Sunday school teacher just went up in smoke . Plus, I need to spend a lot of time going through the notes in detail, which I cannot afford to do currently. Our “KTP1 Bial2 Inkhawmpui3” is going on right now. It’s a great time to interact with other youths of adjoining Kohhrans whom we don’t usually see everyday. I will post the snaps of this grand function by tomorrow.
1KTP – Kristian Thalai Pawl (Christian Youth Group)
2Bial – I have already explained what a “Kohhran” is in one of my earlier posts. It basically means a Church. Each locality is one Kohhran, except for those localities that are too big, which are divided into 2 or 3 (depending on the size) Kohhrans. A Bial (circle) consist of a couple of Kohhrans that are under one Pastorate. Hence an official Pastor heads a Bial, and alternatively spend a different day with each Kohhran. Our Chaltlang Pastor Bial consists of Chaltlang South, Chaltlang Vengpui, Laipuitlang and Chaltlang Lily Veng Kohhrans.
3Inkhawmpuii – Grand Church Service.
Hence “KTP Bial Inkhawmpui” basically means “The Grand Church service of the Christian Youth Group of different Kohhrans belonging to one particular Bial”. Phew!